dryad
/ˈdɹaɪəd/
"dryad" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dryad” is uncommon English (frequency #82,245 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #82,245
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female tree spirit.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dryad · dryad · English
dryad · rank #82,245 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #82,245
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH drippy
Nearest frequency peer: drippy (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “dryad”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Doylestown
Doylestown
17,759 corpus weight
- drippy
drippy
17,757 corpus weight
- dryad
dryad
17,756 corpus weight
- DTR
DTR
17,755 corpus weight
- duffer
duffer
17,754 corpus weight
- dulcimer
dulcimer
17,753 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “dryad” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dryad |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɹaɪəd/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #82,245 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dryad” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dryad is uncommon English at frequency #82,245 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɹaɪəd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
dryad doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French driade (“wood nymph”), from Latin Dryas, Dryadis, from Ancient Greek Δρυάς (Druás, “dryad”), from δρῦς (drûs, “oak”), from Proto-Indo-European *derew(o)- (“tree, wood”); cf. Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”). The correct English form is dryad, spelled D-R-Y-A-D.
Definition
- 1A female tree spirit.
- 2mountain avens, dryas
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how dryad appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
There it had stood for years, close beside a mighty oak, under which sat often the kindly old priest, who told stories to the listening children. The young chestnut tree listened with them: the Dryad inside it, who was still a child, could remember the time when the tree was so small that it only reached a little higher than the ferns and long blades of g…
Etymology
From Old French driade (“wood nymph”), from Latin Dryas, Dryadis, from Ancient Greek Δρυάς (Druás, “dryad”), from δρῦς (drûs, “oak”), from Proto-Indo-European *derew(o)- (“tree, wood”); cf. Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "dryad"?
What does "dryad" mean?
How do you pronounce "dryad"?
What is the origin of the word "dryad"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dryad", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).